Learn Spanish

Notes

Spanish is an extremely popular language. There 406 million native Spanish speakers, 20 million students currently studying worldwide, and more than 60 million second language speakers. It is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

Spanish is a very useful to learn because it is the most widely used language in the Western hemisphere. Since the early 21st century it has superseded French in becoming the second most studied language, and is the second most used language in international communication (English is the first).

Spanish is particularly popular with travelers and international workers who regularly visit Europe, South America and parts of America. However, it is common to encounter Spanish speakers all over the world, and people from different countries often use Spanish as an intermediary language to bridge the communication barrier.

The popularity of learning Spanish has fuelled a profitable teaching industry, and therefore created a thriving marketplace where group and private lessons are highly priced. For this reason, many people are choose to learn Spanish from an interactive software course, such as those I have compared in the table above. The ease of using online software gives the learner full control over the pace of the learning process, offering versatile on the go learning from any internet connection, as well as downloadable audio and video lessons that can be used offline.

Comparison Table Analysis

As you can see from my comparison table, Rocket Spanish clinches first place by just two percent, with closest rival Transparent a good second - but falling down on price and content value. Rocket Spanish is $80 cheaper, offers more lessons, more word tools and better virtual teaching assistance.

Pimsleur Spanish is also well worth considering, providing great audio lessons with a central focus on colloquial Spanish, which is ideal for travellers who want to load up their mp3 player/iPod for a journey through a Spanish speaking country. However, due to being a physically shipped product, the program is pretty expensive, especially when you opt for the complete levels package.

Post-purchase support should always be a key consideration in choosing language-learning software, and this is where historical favorites Rosetta Stone and Fluenz have fallen behind the rest of the field. No longer is it adequate to simply give the buyer one off value for a one of payment. Language learners have come to expect additional value, such as tutor support, forum support and regular new lesson updates. Buyers also expect to be given automatic program upgrades should a new version become available at any time in the future. Rocket Spanish fulfills these expectations by providing a fun, interactive package for beginner and intermediate learners that offers lifetime updates and support.

The comparison table provided has been compiled using an analysis of each of my program reviews. I have weighed up the pros and cons of each language software provider and applied a score accordingly. However, I encourage you to read through the reviews to see which program best suits your learning objectives. I wish you all the best in your goal to learn Spanish.